.jpg) Joe Mercer Memorial outside theCity of Manchester Stadium | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joseph Mercer | ||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1914 | ||
| Place of birth | Ellesmere Port,Cheshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 9 August 1990(1990-08-09) (aged 76) | ||
| Place of death | England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Left half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ellesmere Port Town | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1932–1946 | Everton | 186 | (2) |
| 1946–1955 | Arsenal | 247 | (2) |
| Total | 433 | (4) | |
| International career | |||
| 1938–1939 | England | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1955–1958 | Sheffield United | ||
| 1958–1964 | Aston Villa | ||
| 1965–1971 | Manchester City | ||
| 1972–1974 | Coventry City | ||
| 1974 | England (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Joseph MercerOBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an Englishfootballer and manager. Mercer, who played as adefender forEverton andArsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manageAston Villa andManchester City, and was the caretaker manager of theEngland national football team.[2][3][4][5]
Mercer was born inEllesmere Port,Cheshire, the son of a formerNottingham Forest andTranmere Rovers footballer, also namedJoe.[6] His father died following health problems resulting from a gas attack during theGreat War, when Mercer was only 12.[7]
Mercer, a left-half, first played forEllesmere Port Town. He was a powerful tackler and good at anticipating an opponent's moves. He joinedEverton in September 1932 at the age of 18 and claimed a regular first team place in the 1935–36 season. Mercer made 186 appearances for Everton, scoring two goals and a winning aLeague championship medal in the 1938–39 season. While playing for Everton, he gained fiveEngland caps between 1938 and 1939.[2]
Like many players of his generation, Mercer lost out on seven seasons of football due to theSecond World War. He became a sergeant-major and played in 26 wartime internationals, many of them as captain. The Everton managerTheo Kelly accused Mercer of not trying in an international againstScotland,[when?] but in reality, Mercer had sustained a severe cartilage injury. Even after consulting an orthopaedic specialist, the Everton management refused to believe him and Mercer had to pay for the surgery himself. During the war, Mercer guested forChester City, making his debut in a 4–1 win overHalifax Town in September 1942.[8]
Mercer moved in late 1946 for £9,000 (2022: £471,362) toArsenal, commuting fromLiverpool; Kelly brought Mercer's boots to the transfer negotiations to prevent Mercer having a reason to go back to say goodbye to the other players at Everton.[9] He made his Arsenal debut againstBolton Wanderers on 30 November 1946 and soon after joining Arsenal, Mercer became club captain. As captain, he led Arsenal through their period of success in the late 1940s and early 1950s, helping to haul his side from the lower end of the table to win a League championship title in the1947–48 season.[3]
Mercer went on to win anFA Cup winner's medal in 1950 and was votedFWA Footballer of the Year the same year. He led Arsenal to theCup final in 1952, which they lost 1–0 toNewcastle United. The following year, they bounced back to win his third League title with Arsenal winning the1952–53 League championship ongoal average. Mercer initially decided to retire in May 1953, but soon recanted and returned to Arsenal for the1953–54 season. On 10 April 1954, he broke his leg in two places after a collision with teammateJoe Wade in a match againstLiverpool, and finally called time on his footballing career the year after. Mercer played 275 times for Arsenal in all, scoring two goals.[3]
After his playing career ended, Mercer spent a little over a year working as a journalist and a grocer. His wife's family had encouraged him to become involved in grocery during his time at Everton and, while still Arsenal's captain, he ran his grocery business from 105 to 107 Brighton Street,Wallasey.[10]
On 18 August 1955, he returned to football, becoming manager ofSheffield United two days before their first game of the season againstNewcastle United. Mercer was appointed to replace managerReg Freeman who had died during the close season. As a manager, he began inauspiciously and his first season ended in relegation.[citation needed]
The rest of his time as manager was spent in theSecond Division and in December 1958, wanting to move to another club, he resigned and moved toAston Villa who were bottom of theFirst Division. Although he led them to the FA Cup semi-finals, he was relegated to the Second Division once again. He moulded a talented young side at Villa and his team became known as the "Mercer Minors". He led Villa to victory in the inauguralLeague Cup in 1961, but suffered astroke in 1964 and was then sacked by the Aston Villa board upon his recovery.[11]
Despite this, his health improved and he went on to enjoy great success as a manager withManchester City between 1965 and 1971. In his first season atMaine Road, the club won the 1966 Second Division title to regain top-flight status. Two seasons later, Mercer led Manchester City to the1967–68 First Division championship, and went on to win the1969 FA Cup, the1970 League Cup, and the1970 European Cup Winners' Cup.[4]
In the 1970–71 season, Mercer had a dispute with his assistantMalcolm Allison, after the two men became embroiled in Manchester City's takeover battle. Mercer supported the existing board, led by the respectedAlbert Alexander Sr., while Allison supported the rival group led byPeter Swales after being promised that he would be manager in his own right.[12]
The takeover succeeded, and Mercer was shocked to discover that his car parking space and office were removed. This led to Mercer moving upstairs to become general manager at Manchester City in October 1971, with Allison taking over as team manager. Mercer left Manchester City at the end of the season and became manager ofCoventry City, whom he managed from 1972 to 1974. During the same time, Mercer was alsocaretaker manager of theEngland national football team for a brief period in 1974 afterSir Alf Ramsey's resignation. During his time in charge, England shared the1974 British Home Championship title withScotland. In total, Mercer was in charge for seven games, winning three of them, drawing another three and losing one. TheFA was so impressed by these performances that questions arose about the possibility of Mercer taking the job on a longer-term basis, with, as an assistant, his Coventry City protegeGordon Milne. Mercer, too, seemed open to persuasion but the FA was working on another plan, putting out feelers to the most successful English club manager available,Leeds United'sDon Revie.[5]
After quitting as Coventry City boss, he served as a director of the club from 1975 to his retirement in 1981. He was also an activefreemason attending Rivacre Lodge No. 5805 atEllesmere Port.[13] Mercer was a subject of the television programmeThis Is Your Life in March 1970, when he was surprised byEamonn Andrews. He was made an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire for services to football in 1976. He suffered with Alzheimer's disease in later life and died, sitting in his favourite armchair, on his76th birthday in 1990.[14] He was survived by his widow Norah, who remained a keen football follower, and attended Manchester City matches to support City for many years.[15] She died in March 2013 and her funeral was attended by 120-plus mourners, including City legendsMike Summerbee,Tony Book,Colin Bell andJoe Corrigan, as well asBobby Charlton.[16]
He is commemorated by his old club Manchester City with the road Joe Mercer Way at theCity of Manchester Stadium being named after him. On the road, there are two mosaics by renowned Manchester artist Mark Kennedy of Mercer; one shows his smiling face lifting the League Championship trophy; the other is a version of a famous photograph showing the back of him as he looks out over theMaine Road pitch towards the Kippax Stand.[17] His contribution to City was commemorated in the Kippax tribute still sung at the City of Manchester Stadium to the tune ofAuld Lang Syne: "The Stretford End cried out aloud: 'It's the end of you Sky Blues.' Joe Mercer came. We played the game. We went toRotherham United, we won 1–0 and we were back into Division One. We've won the League, we've won the Cup, we've been to Europe too. And when we win the League again we'll sing this song to you: City, City, City."[18]
At Maine Road, a corporate suite, the Joe Mercer Suite, was officially opened by his widow Norah in 1993. A similar facility named after him exists atGoodison. In 1993, Mercer's official biography,Football with a Smile, was written by Gary James. This book sold out within six months and was revised and re-published early in 2010.[19] Mercer is also featured upon the mural that surrounds theEmirates Stadium.[20] Mercer was inducted into theEnglish Football Hall of Fame at theNational Football Museum inPreston on 4 July 2009. He was inducted for his managerial success.[21]
Everton[2]
Arsenal[3]
Aston Villa
Manchester City[4]
England[5]
| Team | From | To | Record | Refs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Sheffield United | August 1955 | December 1958 | 159 | 66 | 36 | 57 | 041.5 | [23] |
| Aston Villa | December 1958 | July 1964 | 279 | 119 | 62 | 98 | 042.7 | [23] |
| Manchester City | July 1965 | October 1971 | 340 | 149 | 94 | 97 | 043.8 | [23] |
| Coventry City | June 1972 | May 1974 | 106 | 36 | 25 | 45 | 034.0 | [23] |
| England (caretaker) | May 1974 | June 1974 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 042.9 | [24] |
| Total | 891 | 373 | 220 | 298 | 041.9 | |||
